MOBILE, Alabama – Pitting two area teachers against a third-grader from a distant small town, this year’s Senior Bowl Superstar competition didn’t look like a fair fight. And it wasn’t: The kid dominated.

When nine-year-old Jones Colgrove of Demopolis was announced as the winner of the 10th annual competition, he became the youngest person ever to claim its prize: The privilege of singing the national anthem at the beginning of the Jan. 26 Senior Bowl, which usually brings a capacity crowd of about 40,000 people to Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Talent alone made Jones one of three finalists, but the winner, as always, was determined in a round of online voting. Senior Bowl Sales and Marketing Director Chris Morgan said Colgrove won in a decisive fashion: A little over 100,000 votes were cast, and nearly 50,000 of them were for Colgrove.

How he did so serves as an illustration that the small-town, out-of-town disadvantage can turn out to be an advantage. Especially if you’ve got some particularly proactive parents.

Colgrove and his parents, Edmund and Candace Colgrove, first learned of the competition from Jones’ vocal teacher, Laura Clements, who operates Clements Talent Coaching in Demopolis.

They came to Mobile for preliminary rounds that featured a record field of more than 100 competitors. Jones Colgrove said he arrived shortly before he was scheduled to sing that day, and saw about 30 other acts sing “The Star Spangled Banner.” He wasn’t daunted.

“I felt pretty confident,” he said.

When he was called back as one of 10 semifinalists, he was “really excited,” he said. He wasn’t taking anything for granted this time around, he said, but a panel of judges picked him as one of three finalists. Next up was an appearance on the WKRG-TV5 morning show, where he and fellow finalists Diane Swearingen and Tiffany Davis each got a showcase.

Then it was time for the three candidates to do what they could to motivate voters. And Colgrove’s parents made the most of the fact that he wasn’t bound by the Mobile media market.

Edmund Colgrove said that on the day voting opened, his wife ferried Jones first to an appearance on Demopolis-based country radio station WINL-FM 98.5. Then she carried him to Montgomery for an appearance on a local TV news program. By the end of the day he’d also made an appearance on a local news program in Tuscaloosa.

“That Friday was a hectic day,” said Edmund Colgrove.

“My mom and dad put it all over Facebook, and texted all their contacts,” said his son.

Stories in the Demopolis Times and the West Alabama Watchman also alerted potential voters about the opportunity to vote for Colgrove. And his father said the whole population of his hometown seemed to be behind him.

“We’re very much appreciative of everybody in the Demopolis community,” said Edmund Colgrove.

Jones Colgrove said his peers don’t necessarily seem to see him as a star, but they are interested in what he’s going to do with his $1,000 prize. (He is the first Senior Bowl Superstar winner to claim a cash prize; that’s a new feature added by sponsor IberiaBank.)

That’s a lot of money for a third-grader, but Colgrove seems to have his eye on the big picture.